ALTERANiosII examples work on MicrotronixCyclone ?

[Altera_Forum]

Hi, 

I just got my new ALtera NIOS II CDROM (eval version) and i'm trying to run the Cyclone's "standard"  example's hello_world . I'm following the QUICK START GUIDE in the NIOSII IDE to compile hello_world  (which works OK) then "Run as-> NIOS II Hardware" using my Microtronix Cyclone development kit (for the NIOS 1 , ie the previous NIOS).  But I got the following error message (below), then Quartus programmer popped up to allow me to download (via JTAG ByteBlasterMV) the "standard.sof" file under directory "../niosII_cyclone_1c20/standard" . The programming of this .sof file runs OK but then I still can't run on the board to get the words "hello_world" displayed on the console. -So does this example only work with ALtera Cyclone board??? if not then how do I modify this design to make it run on the Microtronix Cyclone board (using the same chip EP1C20F400C7) ANy help would be very appreciated  # ####error message### There are no Nios II CPUs with debug modules available which match the values specified. Please check that your PLD is correctly configured, downloading a new SOF file if necessary.

[Altera_Forum]

Then, I also tried the same steps but using the "low_cost" hello_world example (also for Cyclone), 

but got different error message below. Is the USB JTAG cable really needed for NIOSII kit rather than the old ByteBlasterMV [LPT1] ? are both error messages (here and from my previous post) caused by this same USB cable or separate issue? Thanks  # ### nios2-terminal: Warning: The JTAG cable you are using is not supported for Nios nios2-terminal: II systems. You may experience intermittent JTAG communication nios2-terminal: failures with this cable. Please use a USB Blaster revision B nios2-terminal: cable or another supported cable. Please refer to the file nios2-terminal: errata.txt included in the Nios II development kit documents nios2-terminal: directory for more information.  nios2-terminal: connected to hardware target using JTAG UART on cable nios2-terminal: "ByteBlasterMV [LPT1]", device 1, instance 0 nios2-terminal: starting in terminal mode only (Control-C exits)

[Altera_Forum]

You're first message about the JTAG cable not being supported just means that they are not claiming you're going to get an error proof communication to the FPGA. (they mean you should buy the USB blaster since they'll support it). 

 And the second message is just a result of the first one I think (I get the message too but I've had no problems, just keep you're cables away from noisy devices like computers/monitors, microwaves, networking equipment, etc..... and you should be fine with that setup.  If you are seeing the printf messenges (Hello world) then everything is working fine

[Altera_Forum]

Thanks for the reply,  

how about the 1st error message ? (below). It seems to me depending on which example (eg lowcost , standard..) you use, you get a different message; it's very confusing. Can they be all due to the JTAG cable?   # ####error message### There are no Nios II CPUs with debug modules available which match the values specified. Please check that your PLD is correctly configured, downloading a new SOF file if necessary.

[Altera_Forum]

Those designs were probably specific to an Altera NIOS kit. That design used flash from that board if I'm not mistaken. 

 To do you're own first hello world program I recommend starting from scratch (because then you know how do you're own design). Add you're own design and populate some onchip RAM with the jtag downloader. The code they give you for the software should be just fine to use.  Or you can just load that hardware design, open the SOPC builder for that design and remove anything that's not on you're board (like the flash for example).  But I'd recommend starting with something small like a core, RAM, JTAG uart, and debug module then work your way up. If you do that though expect the code to be huge without making the recommended changes in the IDE (without changes it'll be around 67kB, and when you put the changes in it will be under 4kB)

[Altera_Forum]

Thanks for the recommendation

[Altera_Forum]

Hi, 

 How can I get the ALtera NIOS II CDROM (eval version) ?  Thank you.

[Altera_Forum]

A couple answers... 

1. you can download the Nios Ii eval from this forum (look at the download section). 2. The error/message about the cable is to warn you that the cable you are usign MIGHT give some errors. We found a problem (I'll paste from the errata at the bottom of this post (it's long)). NOTE: we use byteBlaster MV and II cables for our testing, they may not be the latest and greatest, but we use them constantly. The flash programmer will stress the cable such that you really want to use the revB USB cable, or a modified ByteBlaster (II or MV).  3. I'm not sure about the design problem, but my guess would be that the Microtronix board doesn't have many things that are on the Nios board. The boards would have to have all the things the design requies and the pinoput would need to be the same for the design to work.   *********** Download Cables:  You must use a supported download cable when downloading,   debugging, or communicating with Nios II systems over JTAG.   Using the USB Blaster Rev A, ByteBlaster, ByteBlaster MV,   ByteBlaster II, and MasterBlaster cables may cause intermittent   JTAG communication failures.    The modes of failure are:  * Debugging Failure with the Nios II IDE - Debug session   terminates with JTAG I/O error   * Nios II JTAG UART Failure - Invalid characters transmitted   and received via Nios II Terminal   * Device Configuration Failure - Device configuration fails   with an error message from the Quartus II Programmer   * SignalTap Failure - SignalTap session terminates with JTAG   communication error   If you receive the following message while using the Nios II Terminal,   the tools could not verify whether you are using a supported cable.    nios2-terminal: Warning: Unable to verify whether your download cable is supported for Nios II systems.   nios2-terminal: If you use an unsupported cable, you may experience intermittent JTAG communication failures.   nios2-terminal: Please refer to the file errata.txt included in the Nios II development kit documents directory for   nios2-terminal: information on how to update your system.   In general, the above message will only occur if you have   re-installed Quartus II 4.0 SP1 after you installed Nios II   version 1.0. Re-installing Nios II will allow your system to   detect if your cable is supported. The warning message will   occur each time Nios II Terminal is started until you re-install   Nios II.    If you receive the following message from Nios II Terminal, you   are not using a supported download cable. The warning message will   occur each time Nios II Terminal is started and an unsupported cable   is detected.   nios2-terminal: Warning: The JTAG cable you are using is not supported for Nios II systems.   nios2-terminal: You may experience intermittent JTAG communication failures with this cable.   nios2-terminal: Please use a USB Blaster revision B cable or another supported cable.   nios2-terminal: Please refer to the file errata.txt included in the Nios II development kit documents directory for more information.   The supported cables for downloading, debugging, or communicating  with Nios II systems are:   * USB Blaster Revision B or later  Revision B cables are clearly labeled as Revision B.   (Revision A cables have no revision label.)   * Please contact Altera for additional information   about supported cables.

[Altera_Forum]

The Altera Cyclone examples will not work with the Microtronix Cyclone Development Board. The devices on the board are different and the pinout is different. 

 Dennis Scott Microtronix Datacom Ltd.

[Altera_Forum]

Hi Kerri, 

 I could not find the Nios Ii eval software in the download section of this forum.  Thank you  Hawkins

[Altera_Forum]

https://www.altera.com/support/software/dow...-nios2_v1.0.jsp (https://www.altera.com/support/software/download/nios2/dnl-nios2_v1.0.jsp) 

 (pinned means it shows up at the top before the different topics).  You need to be registered with Altera to download it (free as well).  I currently use that with the 4.1 Webpack of Quartus on my Stratix 1S10ES device. If you have a full version of quartus then no worries, if not check the compatibility list for the webpack (my device isn't supported by it so I took a version 3 design that was empty and brought it up to 4.1 and it works fine). (So those of you who got stiffed by Parallax with an ES device, this will work)

[Altera_Forum]

Thanks Badoman